


the silver forked sky

by HopeRebel



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Ben Solo, Bisexuality, Canonical Character Death, Dark Jedi history, Death, Discussion of Infertility, F/M, Force Lightning, Friendship Angst, Grief/Mourning, Leia’s death, Loss of Virginity, Monsoon, No Pregnancy, No Smut, Only One Tent, Post-Canon, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey gets struck by lightning, Virgin Ben Solo, Virgin Rey (Star Wars), actual lightning, caught in the storm, discussion of virginity, friendship fights, haboob, mature themes (no mature content), mention of Han’s death, no death or injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:20:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26718910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeRebel/pseuds/HopeRebel
Summary: After the Battle on Exegol, Rey and Ben attempt to help repair the Resistance. As tensions around the base mount, they escape to Corbos for some time alone together. Their time becomes interrupted by a monsoon storm, and Ben and Rey are forced into close quarters.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 24
Kudos: 19
Collections: To Rapture the Earth and the Seas: the 2020 Reylo Fanfiction Anthology





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to the awesome mods of RFFA for helping organize this anthology and motivating all of us writers! 
> 
> Special thanks to aionimica, politicalmamaduck, DottieSnark, and charming_af_designs for all of their help throughout the writing and editing process.

Ben Solo knew he shouldn’t have told her about Palpatine. Running through the Sith stronghold on Exegol, Ben silently berated himself for telling Rey that she was a Palpatine. It was what the Emperor had told him about her family. However, he knew — he _knew_ — that her family wasn’t Palpatine’s. The Emperor’s voice was too convincing; he was too insistent that she was his granddaughter. 

It seemed right at the time. It sounded right at the time. Before this, Ben believed the Emperor. But as more and more doubts crept in, Ben knew the Emperor was wrong. He knew the Emperor was manipulating him. He berated himself again for passing the lies on to Rey. He only wished he had realized it all sooner.

Now, flinging himself across the void of the citadel, Ben knew it was all a mistake. Rey was a nobody, but that didn’t mean she was unimportant. To him, she was the most important thing in the galaxy, and at that moment, he knew she was in trouble. 

—

Ben crashed to the bottom of the pit. He was certain he had broken multiple bones. Despair and fear began to fill him as he looked up to the ledge. He thought there was every possibility that the climb would take everything out of him. He stood up anyway, readying himself for the challenge. 

From behind him, he heard a voice. “You can do this, Ben. You can help save her.” Anakin Skywalker stepped forwards to face his grandson. Ben knew who he was immediately, despite never hearing his true voice before. His grandfather smiled at him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Do what I could not. Save her...not out of fear, but out of hope.” 

As Ben climbed, Anakin’s voice guided him up and out of the pit. 

—

In their final moments, Ben knew that both of his parents had loved him deeply. His father had faced him in his worst moment, and still he had loved him. His mother gave her lifeforce for him. He felt her gentle, yet resolute push. “Stay with her.” 

He had no intention to do anything else. 

When he opened his eyes, Rey was crouched above him, worry and shock clouding her own features. As he drew in a breath, she dove down to hug him, crying out, “Ben!” 

All he could respond with at first was “Ow.” Then his arms wrapped around her back, and he held her close as they lay on the ground of the ruined throne room. 

Ben came back to the present suddenly when he caught a glimpse of the battle raging above. “We have to help save the fleet.”

Ben looked up into Rey’s warm eyes, as she shook her head. “You are in no shape to fly. We have to get a signal out.” Ben’s adrenaline was wearing off, and he began to realize just how broken his body was. The dull ache of his cracked ribs and the sharp break in his leg screamed at him. He nodded to Rey, and let her help him stand. 

Stumbling out of the citadel, Rey halted them and managed to comm the _Millenium Falcon_. “Lando, we need you to pick us up on the ground. I can’t fit us both in the X-wing, and Ben can’t fly right now.” Ben wanted to argue. He wasn’t ready to face his adoptive uncle. He certainly wasn’t ready to face Chewie.

“Ben?!” Lando shouted loud enough for them both to hear through the comm. Chewbacca roared his own consternation in the background.

“Yes, Ben! Please, Lando.” Ben’s nerves were leaking through the bond towards Rey, but all he felt in return was solidarity. They faced the Emperor together; they could face the Resistance together.

“We’re on our way, kid,” Lando responded after a momentary silence. That silence worried Ben. Sure, Lando had agreed to pick them up. Yes, they were getting off this horrorscape of a planet. None of that eliminated his nervousness. He knew he was different now. Rey knew he was different now. That didn’t mean everyone else knew he was different now. Turning away from the Dark Side came with a cost that Ben didn’t know how to address yet.

When the _Falcon_ landed, Rey helped him up the landing ramp, and they walked — it could only charitably be called “walking” — until he could sit at the gaming table. Lando bellowed from the cockpit, “You guys on?” 

Ben tried to chuckle. Lando asking about them both, even casually, was a step in the right direction.

“Yes!” Rey shouted up to Lando. Ben smiled when Rey sat down next to him, the smile shifting into a grimace as the ship bounced, aggravating his broken body.

“Hold on to something!” Lando yelled back at the pair as the _Falcon_ took off into the battle again. Ben decided to take his advice, and held on to Rey.

—

After the battle, as they crossed the galaxy back to Ajan Kloss, Lando came back to see them. Ben steeled himself for the first of likely many uncomfortable conversations.

Rey kept Ben propped up in the booth, and was in the process of making a splint for his leg. He appreciated her support, both physically and emotionally. Ben watched Lando assessing them with a weathered eye. “You two kids look like hell.” 

Ben grinned as best he could. “I think it’s safe to speak for Rey. We feel like hell.” 

Rey nodded at Ben, and he returned her gaze with a fondness he knew she felt too. From the corner of his eye, Ben saw Lando walk closer. In a familiar gesture, Lando reached out to almost tousle Ben’s hair as he used to when he was a boy. Hope and guilt shot through Ben until Lando’s hand dropped back down. With a small sigh, his uncle said, “It’s good to have you back, kid.”

“It’s good to be back.” 

Lando never asked him about his time held in the sway of the Dark Side. It was easier for him to forgive and let go, than hold onto the anger. Ben appreciated him deeply for it.

—

Landing on Ajan Kloss, Chewie and Lando disembarked from the _Falcon_ first. “You should go out there ahead of me,” Ben told Rey. She nodded and exited the ship. 

He watched her through a window pane as she hugged her friends, Poe and Finn. On their return trip, Rey managed to move Ben to one of the _Falcon’s_ beds. She sat with him, telling him about her friends in the Resistance. Her words helped match his memories of them as Kylo to the possibility of now meeting them as Ben. 

Now, Ben waited until Rey finished embracing her friends, and turned back towards the _Falcon_. Only then did he limp with his remaining dignity down the loading platform. He saw Finn reach for a blaster, and saw Poe grab his arm to stop him from immediately firing. Rey was rushing towards him, placing herself strategically between the men. 

Ben held his hands up, as Rey reached back and laid a hand on his chest. She held her other hand out entreatingly to her friends. “This is Ben Solo. Not Kylo Ren. He helped me defeat the Emperor.” 

Finn wrenched his arm away from Poe, and stormed off in the opposite direction. Poe looked from Rey and Ben to where Finn was headed. 

He shook his head. “I can’t do this today. Sorry, Rey,” he said before following after Finn.

Ben let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and laid his hand on top of Rey’s. “It’ll be alright,” he said, trying to assure her.

As the pair moved forward into the base, they were stopped by Maz Kanata. She looked them both up and down seriously.

“Follow me.” 

They followed her towards the command center, where Rose and Kaydel were already hard at work again.

Rose — who he would later come to regard highly for her convictions and her straightforward demeanor — simply eyed him with her arms crossed, and pronounced, “You have a hole in your shirt.” 

She turned back to her work with Kaydel. The two women had taken over Leia’s duties as co-generals, and were trying to uncover and engage any remaining First and Final Order vessels across the galaxy.

Maz brought them to where Leia’s body once rested before returning to the Force, and then left them in peace to process their own grief. “Rey, you know where the medbay is. Take yourselves there when you’re done here.” They sat together on the stone floor, Rey holding Ben’s hand as he told her stories about his mother and father. 

His moment with his mother when she had rejoined the Force was too brief, too fleeting. Rey listening to him as he spoke of his childhood misadventures and memories allowed him to bear his grief. Ben knew that his mother was one with the Force, but that didn’t lessen the sorrow. He never truly had the chance to apologize to her — _where would he even begin?_ — but as Rey sat with him, never judging, he felt a release. The hate and tension and anger that had ensnared him for so long, and began to release on Kef Bir, finally melted away completely in the last room where Leia had lived. 

—

Ben’s conversation with Chewie the next day was a long one. They holed themselves up on the _Falcon_ for hours — no one else was allowed on the ship. There was a lot of hurt on both sides, and they needed to talk it over. They needed to grieve. In the end, Ben and Chewie agreed that the conversation was between them, and that forgiveness was possible. Ben was beginning to believe that starting over was possible too. 

When he saw Rey after his talk with Chewie, she simply smiled at him, and hugged the Wookiee. “I’m glad you two are on speaking terms again, and not shooting terms anymore.” Chewie roared with laughter, and Ben was thankful for both her support and her lack of prying. 

—

A few days after his arrival on Ajan Kloss, Ben found Poe in the hangar by himself. Poe had been working almost nonstop since the battle, restoring ships and leading meetings with Rose and Kaydel.

Ben wasn’t sure how to start talking to Poe again. He’d known him as a kid — Leia and the Damerons had fought together in the Rebel Alliance, and worked together in the days of the New Republic — but they hadn’t exactly been the closest of friends. _And then you tortured him,_ Ben reminded himself grimly. 

Poe finally turned around to him, and half-shouted sharply, “What?”

Ben caught his surprise. “I’m sorry, Poe. I’m so sorry.” Poe continued to glare at him. “I know my apology doesn’t mean you forgive me, and —” he sucked in a breath. “And you shouldn’t. But I shouldn’t have done what I did. I regret it. I’m sorry.”

Poe’s glare softened slightly during Ben’s speech. “Congratulations on not being an asshole anymore. Would you like a medal?” 

Ben chuckled, Poe smiled, and that was that. Ben doubted they would ever be friends. However, the next day with Chewie’s buffer, he began working on ship repairs in the hangar with Poe. There were a lot of repairs to make in the aftermath of the battle and the war.


	2. A Few Months Later

After Finn and Rey’s first shouting match, Poe and Ben separated the two. Ben could hear Poe talking to Finn in fierce whispers. For his part, he had to pick up Rey and physically haul her to the commissary. It wasn’t until she had eaten lunch that she finally calmed down, and the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck settled.

After their second verbal spar, Lando and Chewie took them to different sides of the base to cool off. Chewie growled to Rey that while he could see her side, the two needed to repair their friendship. “Tell that to him,” Rey replied bitterly.

After the third time the pair started shouting at each other, Rose glared at them both. “You two need to get over this, and learn to live with each other. We can’t all continue to live this way.” 

They both opened their mouths at the same time to argue with her, but Rose cut them both off, throwing her hands up. “No! No, we’re all done with this. You either need to learn to talk calmly, or don’t talk at all.” 

Finn stomped away, and Rey crumpled onto a storage box. She was still sitting there in silence when Ben came back from the hangar to walk with her to dinner.

Their fourth and final argument drew the attention of almost everyone on the base. 

“What are you thinking? How can you trust him?” Finn shouted across the hangar to where Rey stood next to Ben. 

They were working on the _Millenium Falcon_ in silence with Chewie when Finn stalked into the room. Ben took a deep breath, a precursor to trying to stop the fight before it started. Ajan Kloss’s heat and humidity only added to the tension felt across the base. 

Rey beat him to the verbal punch. “I’m thinking he helped save my life!” she said. “I’m thinking he helped save the Resistance! I’m thinking he deserves at least a chance! I’m thinking about what Leia might have wanted!” She walked fiercely across the room towards Finn with every statement. The room crackled with the energy emanating off of Rey. “How can you not even try to see that? I’m not asking for you to trust him, but I am asking for you to trust me. And trust that I trust him.”

The hangar went quiet, and all work stopped as Rey yelled. Finn had the audacity to roll his eyes at Rey. In that moment, Ben’s stomach dropped. Whatever came next couldn’t be good. Anything that followed Finn’s eye roll could only be the emotional injury after the physical insult. He steeled himself for Finn’s words, but he couldn’t truly prepare himself for them.

“ _I_ _’m_ thinking that doesn’t erase the years before! _I’m_ thinking that doesn’t make him forgiven! _I’m_ thinking you don’t have a clue what Leia actually wanted!” Finn paused for a moment, and then spat out, “ _I’m_ thinking maybe neither of you should have come back!”

Rey gasped, her hand flying to her mouth and tears springing to her eyes. The energy that had been building in the room sucked out of it and back into Rey instantaneously. Ben felt her pain and sorrow flood their Force bond, and sent back all the strength he could to keep her from crumpling to the floor.

At that, Maz jumped up on top of a worktable, and shouted. “Stop it! Both of you! Stop!” 

Lando looked at Jannah, and then to Finn and Maz. He took a step forward. “We were thinking of heading out and trying to track down more First Order troopers that have defected. It would go a lot better with another former ‘trooper.”

Jannah joined him, and added, “Come on, Finn, we’ll be gone a while, but it could be good.” Finn’s shoulders started to lower, and his face lost some of its harsh expression.

Then Ben spoke up, and all of the hatred returned. “Rey, I think it would be good if we left for a bit too. There are some places on the Outer Rim that are rumored to have old lost artifacts.”

Finn glared at Ben, and then back to Rey. “Yeah, Rey, why don’t you leave too?” he threw back at her. 

Rey continued to will herself not to cry, and turned and walked wordlessly back to Ben. He could feel her heart breaking. All he wanted to do was fold her into his embrace and protect her. _Even when you’re the cause?_ He cursed at himself. _What happens when her anger turns to you? What happens when you two begin to fight again?_ Ben worried about this frequently in the past few months. Allowing guilt, self-pity, and fear to overwhelm him wouldn’t help Rey, though. Instead, he squared his spine, and focused on Rey. He couldn’t fix the situation, but he could support her, however she needed support.

—

Later in the supply room, she looked at him with a strange gleam in her eyes. “What?” Ben asked, suddenly self-conscious. 

“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you wear anything other than black,” she said with a shrug. Ben quirked the side of his mouth up in a half-smile. 

Knowing it would be warm, that morning he dressed in a lightweight gray tunic, one with a half collar and a quarter slit in the neck. It was topped with an open black vest, and he had found sturdy dark brown pants to wear with his black boots. His lightsaber was strapped to his back, and he had his blaster at his hip. It had taken him the past four months to call Anakin’s lightsaber “his,” but practicing with it daily helped make the switch in his mind.

Rey had taken to wearing more muted, natural tones again. Today, she was in tan pants with a gray sleeveless short tunic, a medium brown body wrap and a gray vest layered over top. She wore her same brown boots, and tan arm wraps, her hair only half tied up away from her face. Ben could see her scar across her upper arm, uncovered once again. Attached to her hip were both her blaster and his mother’s lightsaber — _Rey’s lightsaber,_ he corrected himself. 

Ben had only ever known his mother as the Senator, the General. He didn't know his uncle helped her craft a lightsaber to protect herself on the job if need be. She wasn’t a Jedi — that wasn’t the path she wanted to walk — but that didn’t mean she didn’t understand the Force.

As Ben checked his bag to ensure he hadn’t forgotten anything, he caught her quickly stuffing a suspiciously familiar black sweater into her pack. He raised an eyebrow towards her, to which she merely responded, “The desert gets cold at night. You’ll want an extra layer too.” 

As she headed towards the _Falcon_ , Ben hesitated briefly before grabbing a battered, well-worn brown leather jacket from the shelf. 

—

Once they were seated in the _Falcon_ , Rey turned and asked, “So, where exactly are we headed?”

“Corbos, in the Outer Rim,” he replied as they powered up the ship. “It’s been abandoned for decades, but the legends hold that there are still important Jedi artifacts outside of the mining city.”

“A mining planet. Really?”

“I hear they also have beautiful canyons and wild thunderstorms.” Ben paused. “And it’s a place for us to get away.” 

She couldn’t argue with that. As Ben steered the _Falcon_ away from the base, Rey got her ready for the jump into hyperspace. Once they had reached lightspeed, Ben and Rey settled back into their chairs.

“So, why would there be Jedi artifacts on a mining planet?” Rey asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Ben checked the controls and turned towards Rey. “Well, before it was a mining outpost, Corbos was thousands upon thousands of years ago home to a group of Jedi. Over time, they became Dark Jedi—” 

Rey interrupted his story. “Dark Jedi? You mean, the Sith?”

Ben smiled at her, “No, not exactly. But they were usually Jedi who had turned away from the Light Side to embrace the Dark Side. Some of the Dark Jedi later became the first Sith. They’re older than the Sith though.”

Rey nodded sagely at Ben’s explanation. “Okay. Please continue.”

He loved telling her stories. He didn’t even mind her interruptions. 

Ben smiled at the thought, and Rey’s reaction to his smile immediately erupted into their bond. Her happiness and affection engulfed him in warmth, drawing his smile even wider. Content, Ben continued his story.

“Thousands of thousands of years ago, a group of Dark Jedi lived on Corbos. As they began to delve into the Dark Side, they were cast out from the Jedi Order. A period of time known as the Hundred-Year Darkness began, and it was during this time that the Dark Jedi on Corbos began to create monsters. These creatures were called the Leviathans due to their size and hunger. They would feed on the lifeforce of any other types of creatures, and only the Dark Jedi could exert some semblance of control over them. Reptilian and hulking, they devoured everything else on Corbos, until they were driven into hibernation by the Jedi during a battle on the planet.”

Rey was watching him with rapt attention as he told his story. When he paused, she asked, “What happened to the Leviathans? Are they still there?”

“Many of them were killed, by lightsabers and Force lightning—”

“Wait, I thought Force lightning was a Dark Side power?” Rey asked as she sat forwards. She rubbed her hands together, looking away from Ben at some imaginary fixed point past his shoulder. Her anxiety swarmed in his mind; she’d used that power before, and it terrified her.

“Predominantly, yes, but not always. It’s a power of the Force, and like any other, it can be wielded for either side,” Ben answered. “During the Battle of Corbos, some Jedi used Force lightning to kill Leviathans.”

“Oh,” she remarked, visibly relaxing. “So, are they still there?”

“They are. Different groups have tried to establish mining colonies on the planet, but each time the Leviathans sense a large outpost, they attack it. There are usually no survivors. Then they return to hibernation again for hundreds of years.”

Rey snorted. “That’s reassuring.”

Ben laughed, and Rey began to smile at his laughter. “They don’t usually awaken until there are hundreds or thousands of people present. The two of us won’t cause them to budge.”

Rey gave him a look which said that she dubiously believed him, and he counted that as a win.

—

“I didn’t know desert planets could have trees,” Rey marveled as Ben set the _Falcon_ down atop a vista. “And so many!” She waved her arm out at the desert forest ahead of them. From their vantage point, the landscape swept down a high cliff face into craggy valleys. Desert pine trees covered the vista, and scrub brush clung desperately to the side of the cliff. The red and golden rocks of the cliffs peeked out through the trees, and the valley floor was carpeted with more of the desert pines. Far off in the distance the trees cleared into lighter stone and cacti, where Ben could make out the ruins of the last mining outpost settled into another mountain valley. 

“Well, this one does have its fair share of trees,” Ben chuckled. “Corbos is what’s called a high desert. Lots of canyons and sheared off mountain vistas, scrub brush, and yes, even trees. Mostly desert pines, but there are some other leafy trees down by the water.” He pointed off the edge of the cliff in front of them. “The abandoned mining settlement is down there on the other side of the rim. We’re headed behind us though,” he continued, thumbing over his shoulder. “There’s a river that used to be called Old Fossil Creek. It’s down in a canyon bed, and supposedly where some artifacts might be.”

Rey and Ben started to shut down the _Falcon_ , grab their gear, and lock the ship up. “How do you know this?” Rey asked. “Where did you find out about the canyon and the river?”

Ben hesitated slightly. “Luke used to talk about it. Then I read about it in an old book of his years ago. I guess it just stuck with me. I found the map again in one of the books you saved.” Rey put her hand on his shoulder gently, and his tension drifted away.

“So, how long of a hike do we have down to the canyon floor?” she asked with a smile, hefting her pack onto her back.

—

Following their descent down the old trail cut into the canyon wall, Ben and Rey began to make camp in a small glen. She brought a small, water-treated, coarseweave tent to sleep in, and he had opted for a nylar hammock. They set their camp up in congenial silence, helping the other when necessary, moving seamlessly together. Ben affixed his hammock between two sturdy upright pines, and Rey assembled her tent near to him - but not so close that they might bump into each other in the night. After their setup was complete, and their packs were hung from high tree branches, they set out to explore the canyon floor.

The Old Fossil Creek turned out to be a clear, slow running river just a short walk down from their campsite. The water was cool, but not too cold. The river led to a small waterfall, and past that were a series of bluegreen crystalline pools that shimmered in the sunlight. 

Looking out at the river, Ben wondered if Rey even knew how to swim. Her amusement at his thoughts telegraphed across their bond, as she started stripping layers off. 

“Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do know how to swim,” she said with a grin, continuing to undress. She was almost down to her breast band and undergarments, when Ben caught up, divesting himself of his outer layers as quickly as possible. She let out a whoop as she jumped into the water, and Ben smiled, following her. 

—

On a break from swimming, Ben settled into a shaded cove surrounded by the riparian trees. He smiled, observing Rey sunning herself on a large smooth rock like a kinder, gentler, contented krayt dragon. Rey giggled as she became aware of Ben’s thoughts surrounding her recline on the rock. She looked over to him, smiling herself. “Thank you for bringing me here. I needed an out.”

“It really was the least I could do,” Ben replied. “So much of this feels like it’s all my fault. I’m the root of all the tension on the base, and no matter how I try to atone, I feel like I may never be able to.” He hadn’t meant to turn their day serious, but he needed to talk with Rey about it. He couldn’t be the reason she lost her closest friends, especially Finn.

Rey sat up, and hugged her knees to herself. “It’s not your fault, not exactly. It’s just hard for others to see that. Finn’s not great at looking at a gray situation. He can’t see how his break away from the First Order could be similar to yours in any way.”

“I don’t expect his forgiveness. I just don’t want you to lose him.”

Rey’s voice lowered. “I don’t want to lose him either.” Tears collected in the corners of her eyes. “But I also don’t want to lose you.”

Ben stood up, and made his way over to Rey. Once he sat down next to her, he took her into his arms, holding her close as silent tears fell down her face. “You’re not going to lose me, sweetheart. You’re not, I promise.” He took a breath, and hugged her tighter for a brief moment. “I’m willing to do whatever I need to so you can keep your friendships. I can’t be what causes you to lose your family.”

Rey looked up at him, and he tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear. “I believe you, and I’m not going to lose them. We’ll make it through this. It’s just been rough with Finn. He’s my first friend.”

“I know. I know how he matters to you. We’ll make it right. I’m sure of it. It’ll just take time,” Ben tried to reassure her. Rey snuggled into his hold, her comfort in his arms enveloping them both within their Forcebond. 

Rey eventually pulled back with a grin. “Can we go swimming again?”

Ben didn’t know how he would ever tell her no again.

—

They ate their dinner in companionable silence, and when it was time to sleep, Rey reached her arm out to Ben. He stepped into her embrace, holding her close, smelling the sunshine and river water in her drying hair. She leaned her head back to look up at his face, and he watched her eyes lower to his lips. Smiling, he leaned down to kiss her. It was their practiced nighttime ritual. Maybe some night it would go further. For now, they each were happy simply to have the other, and kiss one another good night. 

Ben and Rey slept soundly and uneventfully that night after their hours of relaxing in and around the river.


	3. The Storm

The next day dawned cloudless and windy. After breakfast, Ben pulled the canyon map out of his pack. Rey, having finished scrubbing their bowls, came to look at the map with him.

“The artifacts should be somewhere along the side wall here,” Ben indicated, tracing his finger across the line of the canyon wall opposite their descent the day before. “They’re supposedly hidden in cliff caves, but the map here doesn’t show if there’s a trail to them or not.”

“I guess that just makes it an adventure,” Rey said with a smile. As he folded the map back up, and grabbed a day pack with supplies for them both, Ben marveled once again that Rey was here with him, and smiling. They weren’t fighting. They weren’t trying to kill each other. He just wanted to live with her, and keep her smiling for as long as he possibly could.

—

Halfway across the canyon floor to their destination, Rey caught sight of a clump of bushes bearing purple berries. “Oh! Look!” she cried rushing forwards. “Salakberries!” She drew closer to the bushes. “And they look ripe!” she added, turning to face Ben with a blazing smile on her face. 

He couldn’t help but smile back at her. “That’s exciting. We should have some,” he suggested, knowing that she would eat the ones she wanted to, whether he suggested it or not. Ben watched her flit around the bushes, grabbing the berries she wanted, resting them in a pile she held with her body wrap. Still smiling, Ben began to grab some salakberries for himself, making a tidy pile in his left hand.

Once Rey was satisfied with her harvest, she settled onto a nearby rock, patting the space beside herself. Ben joined her, and they began to munch happily on their berry hauls. After the first few berries, Rey let out a moan that Ben was fairly certain usually belonged in a bedroom. He could feel her pleasure and satisfaction at the food melting through their bond. It was stirring feelings within himself that he wasn’t sure he wanted to address on an outdoor hike. All the same, he let Rey’s happiness wash over him, and tried to file the feelings away for later. They still had a ways to go.

—

They made it to the other side of the canyon and were searching for a trail of any type up the cliff face when the wind shifted. Rey was the first to notice, and Ben felt a tinge of anxiety spike within her. 

“What is it?” he asked her, hand on her shoulder.

“The wind changed. And,” she paused, raising her nose slightly in the air, “it smells like rain.” She turned to look up at him. “Didn’t you say they had wild thunderstorms here?”

“Yes,” Ben answered slowly, trying to catch up to where she was mentally.

“Exactly how wild?” she pushed.

“They have previously been described as ‘Black Rain’ storms, because the sky gets so dark and they are so forceful.”

Rey was looking off towards the far end of the canyon. She shielded her eyes and squinted into the distance. “Ben, we might not make it up the side of the canyon today.”

Confused, he asked, “Why?”

She pointed in the direction she had been looking. “Do you see the band of gray there in the sky? And the larger band of brownish tan below it?” Ben nodded.“That’s a desert thunderstorm coming. The brown part is a wall of dirt and dust. Back on Jakku we called it a haboob, and the storm that follows a monsoon.”

Ben snorted inelegantly, “A haboob? It doesn’t sound very dangerous.”

Rey gave him a gentle push, and shook her head. “I can assure you, they are.” She let out a half-smile. “Even if the name is fun to say.” 

Ben chuckled at her, and wanted to kiss the side of her mouth where her smile quirked up. He was leaning down to do so when she turned and spoke again. “Given the wind and where that storm is, we need to head back now. If we wait, we might not make it back to camp in time.”

She turned back to him, unaware that she had thwarted his attempt to kiss her. He opened his mouth to ask her a question, and she answered, “The  _ Falcon _ will be fine. It’s survived much worse than a simple monsoon.”

Ben nodded. “If you say so, sweetheart.” 

—

Back at the camp, the wind was picking up. Rey, who was preparing her tent for the incoming storm, looked outside of her tent to see Ben staring down the wall of dirt. Ben had never seen a haboob in person before, and he was marveling at the spectacle of it. The stormfront was inching closer to their camp, engulfing the trees and the canyon as it moved. Ben couldn’t see the top of the dust cloud, but he could see how the wind swirled and roiled the dust at the storm’s edge. The billows looked no more dangerous than clouds, fluffy and curled —  _ just a lot browner than regular clouds _ , Ben thought. “Rey,” he shouted back to her, “you have to see this!”

He heard her huff. “I’ve seen them before. Now, get inside. Before the dust tears your skin off.”

Ben whipped around quickly, worry and disbelief warring within their bond. “It can do that?”

“It can strip a bantha to its skeleton. Now get in!”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly dove into the tent, landing beside her on her sleeping pad. His hair was completely disheveled and windswept. Rey began picking pieces of leaves and other tree debris out of it. He hadn’t noticed he had acquired any of them in the wind ahead of the haboob. All Ben could do was look at her eyes, following them as she sought out the pieces stuck to him. She stopped after removing the worst offenders, and Ben broke the silence. “So, I guess I should have brought a tent too.”

Rey smiled, and despite the darkening sky, Ben thought the whole world lit up. “No. We fit in here. You didn’t seem to snore too loudly from the hammock last night,” she teased. 

Ben wanted to hold her, and the question leaked across their bond. Rey nodded gently, and leaned into him. He held her shoulders as she curled into his side, and laid her palm across his chest. His free hand came up to trace across the back of her hand as they listened to the wind bring the storm closer. 

—

As the tent began to be pelted by raindrops of increasing frequency and size, Ben and Rey took their time to speak in quiet voices about all that happened and changed in the past few months. There was something easier about talking about the difficult topics while holding each other close in the dark. Ben’s breath tickled Rey’s hair as it moved with his words, but he felt her amusement and happiness through their bond. Even when the conversation touched on painful subjects, Ben and Rey both kept the bond full of their understanding and care for one another. They both touched and were touched by the Dark Side, but their connection helped anchor them. They knew they would keep the other from falling back.

“Do you miss the power? Being in control, having everyone go along with your orders?” Rey asked, hesitantly. 

“Never,” Ben answered immediately. He paused for a moment. “I didn’t want the control. I wanted to change the world. Now I see that there are other ways to do that. I don’t need to be the leader to make change happen. And, I know now that I don’t want to make the same changes. I want to help people, not rule them.”

“Hmm,” she mused. “I like that. I think we could help people. There’s been so many hurt in the galaxy for so long. We could help rebuild.”

“Just tell me where you want to start,” he told her genuinely. Ben felt her warm content within their bond, soothing him like a balm after a burn. She snuggled closer, and Ben held her tightly as they continued to talk into the night.

—

Their conversation ebbed and flowed with the monsoon storm’s wind and rain. Much like the storm, there were moments of quiet, where neither spoke, but instead enjoyed the closeness of their companionship. Other times, their voices grew loud in excitement or playful argument, as they discussed and debated the things they liked. 

Ben knew no topics were truly off-limits between them, and he answered all of her questions honestly — even the ones he felt embarrassed to answer, such as when she asked him about what he enjoyed as a child. He turned his head away, knowing he was blushing, and admitted, “I loved butterflies, and for quite some time, I practiced calligraphy.” 

While he expected amusement or even humor to float through the bond, instead, all he felt was her continued pleasure at getting to know the real him better. He let his embarrassment fade, strengthened by her positive response. Ben wasn’t sure that Rey would ever fully understand just how much her reactions continued to help heal him. He did know that he would do everything he could to show her how beyond grateful he was for her care, and he hoped, her love.

He inhaled, and asked, “Rey, you know I care about you deeply, right?”

She smiled at him. “Of course I do. I care about you too. You know that.” 

His joy seeped across their bond, and he shifted position to kiss Rey. She hummed pleasantly as the kiss deepend, raking her hand through his hair. Ben moved his hand hesitantly up and down the side of her torso, studiously avoiding any sensitive areas. 

Ben’s hand trembled slightly as he grazed her side, and he realized his breath was shaky too. Rey placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. “Ben, are you okay? You’re trembling.”

He exhaled. “I’m… I’m…” he tried to say. Shyness and desire warred within him, threatening to escape. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just — I guess I’m nervous. I don’t want to mess anything up. You matter to me too much to mess this up.” 

Rey looked up into his eyes, care and confusion intermingled.

“Did you never… Were you never… Wasn’t there somebody?” Within their bond, Rey’s struggle with her words translated into a lack of surety in what to say. Her attempt to be respectful of his past reassured Ben, even as her communication fumbled. Ben’s pride swelled a little at her confusion over the idea of no one wanting him, desiring him, and he held her even closer. 

Ben looked up at the ceiling of the tent, his thoughts turning inwards to the past. “I…” he let out a long breath. “I had a friend. A very close, true friend. Tai. I think he wished for us to be more, and in another lifetime, maybe we would have been. I couldn’t see it until it was too late.”

He didn’t realize tears were spilling from his eyes until Rey brought her hand up to cup his cheek, wiping the tear away. “Oh Ben, I’m so sorry.” 

Ben could feel her genuine sympathy and acceptance of him and his past through their bond. It meant more to him than any other words she could have said. This was what he had always wanted: acceptance. A partner who saw his flaws — who saw his dark side — and yet who still cared for him. His chest swelled, happiness crescendoing within their Force bond. He felt his happiness returned equally from Rey, but after a few moments, hesitation, nervousness, and fear snuck into the edges of their bond, wiggling their way into Rey’s happiness.

Not knowing what was causing her negative emotions, Ben asked cautiously, “And you? Has there been someone? Or someones?”

Rey shook her head. “I never wanted anyone to get that close to me. I saw at the outpost how poorly partners treated each other. I never wanted anyone to see where I lived, and I never wanted to be stuck somewhere I couldn’t escape.” She paused, hesitating. Ben waited. He knew if he waited she would decide for herself if she wanted to tell him the rest. Nervousness and fear were now threatening to overtake her happiness entirely. Ben tried to soothe her with the warmth of his palm on her back, and with his affection in the bond. She tried starting again, “And, I spent so many years hungry. My body… I — I can’t have children. So what would have been the point?” Moments flashed from Rey’s mind to his — days of starvation, a conversation with Dr. Kalonia shaking her head, Rey searching her body with the Force.

Ben held her closer, pushing his care and affection for her across the bond. He kissed her forehead, and then lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her simply, with no pretense, just his love for her. When he pulled away, he could see wetness in her eyes. “Sometimes - I’m told - the point is simply for two people to show their enjoyment of each other. Sometimes the point is to show their love for each other.” He looked into her eyes, willing her to understand his words, even if he hadn’t said them yet. If all he did was spend the rest of his days proving to Rey that she was deserving of love, he would live a full and happy life. “It doesn’t have to be about procreation. It doesn’t have to be about any of that.”

Rey burrowed back into his chest. “But why would you want me if I can’t give you children?”

“Oh, sweetheart. That’s—” he almost said,  _ That’s not why I love you. _ Ben started over, “Did it ever occur to you that I might not want children? That I might be terrified of the idea of being a biological father? We’re a dyad. Two of the strongest Force users in the history of the galaxy. What would that do to a kid?” He knew the pressure of being the inheritor of the Skywalker legacy and the son of Leia Organa nearly broke him. He would likely always be recovering from the choices he made and the pressure he felt. Ben couldn’t see himself passing that on to an innocent child; he was once that innocent child.

Rey let out a snot-and-phlegm-filled laugh, pulling him away from his dour thoughts. Ben knew he was a goner if he still thought she was beautiful like this, and still loved her like this. “I guess it might be for the best then. But…” She trailed off.

“What is it?” he prompted gently.

“Do you not like kids?” she asked.

Ben smiled. “I like children. Just not the idea of my own. I could see helping children, teaching them about the Force. Not to be a Jedi, or a Sith, but just to understand it all.” He looked down at Rey’s face, tear-stained, but smiling. “Would you like that?”

“I think I’d like that very much,” she responded. 

Ben and Rey lay there quietly, listening to the wind and watching the tent sides illuminate with the lightning. It was too far away for the thunder to register yet. 

—

When the downpour lessened to a steady fall, and the bulk of the lightning had passed them by, Rey got a twinkle in her eye. Ben knew that mischievous twinkle usually preceded an idea that may or may not result in a slightly absurd outcome. She sat up as best she could in the coarseweave tent and grinned at Ben. “Come dance with me.”

“Come dance in the rain?” he laughed.

“Yes! Come enjoy the rain with me!”

“Don’t we enjoy the rain enough back on Ajan Kloss?” Ben asked, knowing he was teasing her a little, and also knowing she enjoyed it.

“It’s not the same as desert rain. It smells wrong, and it’s not the gift of water that it is here on a desert planet.” Rey started backing out of the tent, and tried to pull Ben along with her. He sat up, and was almost to the entrance to the tent, when she ducked out and began to prance in the rain. Ben had to admit to himself that Rey wasn’t the best dancer. Her elegance as a fighter didn’t quite translate to her dancing abilities, but she made up for it with her pure elation. He smiled widely, watching her move in the clearing in front of the tent, throwing her arms around in the rain and spinning. Ben wished he could freeze time, that it could always be them here, always be them this happy.

His wish was interrupted by a crack of lightning and instantaneous peal of thunder as a bolt struck Rey where she stood.

“NO! No! Rey!” Ben screamed. Rain be damned, he was scrambling out of the tent as fast as he could, running to where she inexplicably still stood. He drew up short a few steps away from her, as his eyes adjusted to the dark again after the bolt of lightning. 

“Rey,” he started to point, swallowing thickly. “You’re, uh, you’re glowing.” She looked down at her hands which shimmered with strands of lightning arcing underneath her skin. He saw her shoulder start to sag, as she turned inwards. 

Without thinking, he was reaching for her, to hold her, comfort her— 

“No!” she shouted, just as he was about to envelop her in his embrace. Quieter, she continued, “No. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

The unspoken “again” hung between them. All Ben could feel was her pain and guilt within their bond. He couldn’t stand there and allow her to suffer by herself. He reached his hand out for her, opened himself up to the Force fully, and waited for her to place her hand within his. 

Rey swallowed, staring at his outstretched palm, tears and rain mingling on her face. Lightning still raced under her skin, blues and purples splitting and fragmenting in the dark. After a moment that felt like years, she tentatively lifted her hand to Ben’s.

The moment her palm touched his, Ben curled his fingers around her hand. He felt the lightning shift and swirl across her hand, before it jumped into his body. It sparked up his arm, and forked across his chest and face. Soon, they were both glowing in the clearing, but less brilliantly, as the lightning split its force between them. 

Ben stepped fully into Rey’s space, still holding her hand, his other reaching under her chin. “We’ve made it this far. We can make it through anything,” he murmured to her, before bending down to kiss her. When their lips touched, the lightning leapt out of them, grounding into the canyon floor, and rushing away in a circular arc until it dissipated. 

—

Back in the coarseweave tent, Ben and Rey touched each other’s faces in a lull between kisses. “I don’t want anything but you,” Rey whispered. “Truly.”

Ben kissed her forehead gently, before recapturing her lips. “I would be happy every day of my life, so long as you are in it,” he replied, breaking the kiss. “Rey, I—” he stopped himself. This time, his words,  _ I love you _ , slipped across the Force bond.

Rey’s smile was incandescent. “You know I love you too, Ben.” 

His heart was full to bursting. “I know.” 

Their kissing resumed, and as the night wore on, they showed their love for one another. Slowly and gently, Rey and Ben explored each other — sometimes fumbling and giggling — and let the other see themselves for who they were entirely. Deliriously happy, they fell asleep in one another’s arms, loved fully.


	4. What Was Found

The next morning dawned with clear skies, the smell of rain still affixed to the plants and ground. Ben and Rey retraced their steps across the canyon floor — with a requisite stop at the salakberry bushes — and re-arrived at the base of the opposite canyon wall. Climbing carefully along overgrown trails, and scrabbling over loose scree in places, the pair made it to the first carved out canyon room after about an hour. 

Rey began her examination of the room to the right, while Ben started on the left side. They reached the back of the room at the same time. Looking up and down the wall, Rey commented, “It feels like there should be something here.”

Ben nodded in agreement, blowing at the dust on the wall. “It does.” He looked closer. “Wait, here, see these circles?” 

Rey stepped in closer, and placed her hand inside one ring. The circle’s jagged outline began to glow a faint blue-gray light. Ben placed his hand into the matching circle to the left of hers, which glowed the same color, and a panel at head level groaned open.

It was empty. Rey dropped her hand from the wall, and the panel stayed open. “Huh,” she said in small disbelief. 

When Ben removed his hand, the panel slid shut. He looked down at Rey. “I really expected there to be something there.”

The pair continued their slow examination up the cliff face, until they came to a larger indented room. This one opened into a series of rooms, the first of which included circular panels akin to the first room they had discovered. Repeating the process, Ben and Rey placed their hands on the circles. In the hidden panel, they found a box which looked like a holocron.

Ben picked it up with his other hand, and it emanated a purple glow from within. “It’s the wrong shape to be a Sith holocron,” he said. “And it’s not a Jedi holocron either.”

Rey looked at the object in Ben’s hand. It was neither a cube nor a pyramid. Instead, it appeared to be a pyramid with the top third sheared off. He handed it to her, and she turned it over in her hands. It was still glowing, but not opening. “What is it then?” she asked.

“I can only guess that it might be a Dark Jedi holocron,” Ben replied as she placed it into his daypack. “Let’s check the other room,” he suggested.

The second room held another hidden panel, which contained what appeared to be a pyramidal wayfinder. Similar to the holocron, it glowed purple. Rey looked at every side of the object. “Ben, I think these symbols match the holocron.”

He removed the first object from his pack, and they looked at them side by side. As they rotated them, Ben and Rey saw that each slanted side of the holocron matched a slanted side of the wayfinder. “I don’t recognize them, though,” Ben admitted as he shook his head. 

“We should head back to the base. See if we can find anything about these in the books where you found the map,” Rey suggested. Ben nodded in agreement, and he wrapped and packed the objects safely within his pack. They then made their way back along the canyon floor to their campsite.

—

They broke camp efficiently, returning to the  _ Millenium Falcon _ as quickly as they could. Rey and Ben agreed they could take turns sleeping through hyperspace on the return flight.

Before taking his shift to sleep, Ben listened as Rey commed Rose. She first let the base know they were on their way back to Ajan Kloss. 

“Any word from Finn?” she asked hesitantly.

Rose exhaled slowly over the line. “No, but I did hear from Jannah that they arrived safely on Hays Minor.”

“How are you doing with them being there?” Rey asked. 

“I know it’s the right thing. It’s a good place to start. The planet could use all the help it can get. It just hurts knowing they went home, and I couldn’t,” Rose answered.

Rey’s compassion for her friend swelled within their bond, reminding Ben of his lost friendships as a young man. He tried to keep his guilt and sadness from encroaching on Rey, but he realized he failed when she reached out to squeeze his shoulder. Placing his hand over hers, Ben held onto her for a moment before heading out of the cockpit and towards sleep.

—

After landing back on the base, Ben and Rey sought out Rose. Upon finding her, Rey quasi-attacked her friend into a Wookieehug. She pulled back to see her smile, and let her go back to her work with Kaydel. Ben hugged Rey about her shoulders, and said, “I’m going to go grab a quick rinse in the ‘fresher. See you soon?” She nodded in assent.

Shortly thereafter, Ben felt her presence in his quarters, while he sat cross-legged on the floor, poring over the Jedi texts Rey squirrelled away. He looked up at her. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed, one leg hooked over the other. “Would you like some food?” she asked him. 

“Yeah, we should probably…” He trailed off, looking back at the pile of books. 

Rey laughed, crossing to him. She squatted down, and kissed the top of his head. “Stay here, I’ll bring us something.”

Lunch obtained, Rey and Ben split the books, searching for the symbols on the Dark Jedi objects. 

—

Hours later, Ben and Rey were shaken out of their studies by a vidcomm in his room chirping.

Rey jumped up to grab it. “Rey here,” she announced as the screen came into focus.

Finn’s face appeared, weary, but grateful. 

“Rose told me to comm this unit to find you,” he started. 

Rey sat down in a chair, keeping Ben out of view. Ben understood, and kept quiet. He continued to look for the symbols as Rey spoke with her friend.

“Finn, I’m so sorry,” Rey began.

He cut her off. “No, no. Rey, I’m sorry. I’ve been horrible to you. I never should have said those things. It’s taking me a long time to adjust. You were right, I need to trust you.”

Silent tears were leaking out of Rey’s eyes. All Ben wanted to do was hold her and comfort her, but he held back. “Oh, Finn, I hate thinking I’ve hurt you. You’re my first friend. I can’t lose that.”

Finn let out a tense breath. “I don’t want to lose our friendship either. But, Rey,” he trailed off.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think I can come back for a while. I think it might be best for me to keep working out here. It’s going really well so far. I feel like I’m actually helping people.”

“That’s good,” Rey sniffled. “That’s so good that you’re helping. And I understand if you need time away.”

“I’m sorry, Rey, but I really do think it’s for the best.”

After she ended the videocomm, Ben crawled over to Rey and held her. He smoothed her hair back, as she folded into his lap, crying all over his tunic. He pressed kisses to the top of her head, her forehead, the back of her neck. Ben rubbed what he hoped were soothing circles and aimless shapes on her back. When she was done crying, he wiped her cheeks with a handkerchief, kissed each one, and then her mouth. 

“Thank you,” Rey whispered. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course, love,” Ben told her. She could stay with him every night if she wanted.

—

“I found one. I found one! One of the symbols from the artifacts! It’s here in this text.” Rey jumped up from the desk, hopping in an excited circle.

Ben came to look from his perch on the bed. “That’s fantastic!” He picked her up and spun her around. “One is better than none.”

“It sure is,” she agreed. “So, do you want to go find where this symbol points to?” 

Rey was beaming at him, and Ben’s heart did a little leap inside his chest. He would continue to follow her across the galaxy, wherever she wanted to go. “Maybe this time, it’s hopefully not a planet with haboobs,” he joked. 

Rey and he both knew that didn’t really matter. His devotion filled their bond, and they knew he would be willing to go on whatever adventure next befell them, no matter where in the galaxy it led them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from lyrics to The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) by Snow Patrol


End file.
